Awoke in a panic after having dreamt that a week had passed and I had forgotten about Rosa. Threw on my jogging clothes and went downstairs to check on her, fourteen hours after I had last let her out.

Rosa reminds me a lot of our old dog, Lulu. Like Lulu, Rosa is part whippet, and that was most apparent this morning in the way whippets come out of their dormant curl, a leg at a time, stretching, vibrating. Watching this I thought of Lulu, but also the monster in Alien.

Lisa was curious to know if Rosa would behave for me while I took her on my morning run. She did.

Below is a second excerpt from Lisa's instructional email:

Apart from rat poison, this is what she eats. Apple cores. The skin from baked squash and yams. The oil from canned fish. Leftovers. Broccoli stems. Two meals a day. One after her morning walk, if she is going to run off-leash at the park. Before the walk is ok if she's not going for a run, just a leash walk (she just shouldn't exercise vigorously on a full stomach).

The meal consists of half a package of the frozen raw dog meat concoction (thawed of course) and a good cup of rice. I'll cook a pot of rice so it's set to go, and leave you extra rice so there's more if you run out. She digests white better than brown. At supper time (5 or 6PM) a second meal. More rice, and a chunk of chicken (the bones are part of her diet, but raw only, never cooked bones!) If the chicken runs out, an egg on her rice. The dinner meal is a little smaller. She would eat absolutely continuously but it's best for her joints if she stays slim.

I'll get her some more treats. I give her a few a day-- like when I get home from an outing, or whenever she is particularly cute. Never leave treats in a coat pocket. She will chew through the coat to get them. In fact, after she chewed through a lovely new pendleton plaid jacket. I never put treats in any pocket any more, and just give them to her at home. Along those lines, keep your pantry door shut. I could imagine her getting into a bag of flour or something, and wrecking your afternoon schedule. She was once a street dog in Poitiers, and foraged for a living, and she has lost none of the impulse. I'll get her some gnawing treats, to keep her busy.

I'm sure you know that dogs can't ever eat chocolate, or any human painkiller.